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Five years ago,
researchers from the Gallup World Poll asked people from around the
world whether they were aware of global climate change, and whether they
personally perceived it as a threat.

Though 89 per cent of the
Singaporeans asked said they knew something or a lot about climate
change, just 59 per cent of those viewed it as a threat. (South Korea
came in at 93 and 80 per cent. In Ethiopia, 80 per cent said they were
aware of climate change, and 73 per cent of those saw it as a personal
threat.)

Last year, a survey by
Singapore's own National Climate Change Secretariat showed 73.8 per cent
of 1,010 respondents were concerned about climate change, and 63.4 per
cent thought Singapore would be severely affected.

So there is rising
awareness of how the Republic will be buffeted by climate change. Even
if the economy remains robust, there is no way for Singapore to spend
its way out of climate change's worst impacts.

If global greenhouse-gas
emissions go unchecked, both rainfall and dry periods could become more
intense, for example - and flood and water management will be more and
more important for the island-state.

Boosted by melting ice sheets, sea levels are also projected to rise between 18cm and 59 cm this century, estimates the United Nations' climate panel. Some scientists say the rise could be as much as 1m to 2m.

So the Singapore
government has mandated that new reclaimed land must be at least 2.25m
above the highest recorded tide level. And much of the coastline already
has some form of tidal protection.

But the nation will feel the knock-on effects of climate change beyond its borders, too.

For example, extreme
weather means that food production will fluctuate, making global food
prices - including those here - more volatile. Business supply chains
could also be disrupted - for instance, floods in Thailand last year hit
the electronics and automobile supply chains hard.

And as oceans warm up,
some of the reefs that serve as homes and nurseries to fish are dying
off, so the food-fish supply may dwindle, leading to further
food-security worries.

On the flip side, some measures to stem climate change can also be good for the country.

For instance, boosting
energy efficiency would help Singapore - which has few energy or fuel
resources of its own at the best of times - increase its energy
security, by making energy supplies go further.

And cross-border efforts
to halt deforestation in Indonesia can also put a lid on forest fires
there as well as the consequent haze that clouds the skies each year.